Guess the Object, Celebrate Preservation Month, and Explore Online Exhibits

May 22nd, 2020

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions continue to operate virtually during this time of social distancing, offering resources, activities, and exhibitions to be enjoyed at home.

Here’s an updated collection of online media available for public consumption: 

Can you guess what it is? The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum each Monday on Facebook posts a photo of an object from the museum’s collection, and followers are asked to identify the item and its use. 

New Mexico Arts and the Military and New Mexico Art in Public Places launched a new poster project called “Essential(s),” featuring work from seven of the veteran artists participating in the Art in Public Places program. Each artist provided a statement to be shared in solidarity with frontline workers. Check out the first poster on Facebook.

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science website has available online exhibits, including a deeper insight into the evolution of species, how algae can be turned into biofuel, and a look at the state’s many diverse ecosystems.

May is Preservation Heritage Month, and each year since 1987 the Historic Preservation Division has issued a poster to mark the occasion. HPD staff member Harvey M. Kaplan designed this year’s posters, which commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in New Mexico on Feb. 21, 1920. 

New Mexico Museum of Art will host the eighth performance of the virtual concert series “Our Fair New Mexico,” featuring Carlos Medina Conjunto. Watch the concert on Facebook at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 22.  

Across other divisions of DCA:

•  The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture recently hosted a virtual lecture by archaeologist Steve Lekson of the University of Colorado on Chaco Canyon and the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois. Listen to an audio version on Facebook.

•  Four new posts this past week have been added to the Latinx Book Review blog available from the National Hispanic Cultural Center. The blog focuses on books written by Latinx authors of all genres.

•  The first Quarantine Diaries video has been posted on the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library Facebook page.

•  Get to know Mark White, the new executive director at the New Mexico Museum of Art. This past week he introduced himself in a Facebook post.

•  The New Mexico Rocketeer Academy at the New Mexico Museum of Space History will now take the place of the museum’s popular on-site summer camp, with virtual week-long camps in June and July.  

•  New Mexico State Library is partnering with the New Mexico Library Foundation to provide a statewide online Summer Reading Program for children. The program is scheduled to tentatively begin on June 1.

•  El Palacio magazine published its first web-only article, on how Museum of Art curators have moved exhibitions online.

More information related to social media and online resources for each division of DCA is available upon request.

About the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

Created in 1978 by the New Mexico Legislature, the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is New Mexico’s cultural steward, charged with preserving and showcasing the state’s cultural riches. With its eight museums, seven historic sites, arts, archaeology, historic preservation, and library programs, the DCA is one of the largest and most diverse state cultural agencies in the nation. Together, the facilities, programs, and services of the Department support a $5.6 billion cultural industry in New Mexico. 

Events, news releases, and images related to activities in divisions of the DCA can be accessed at media.newmexicoculture.org.

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